1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to advantageous systems, assemblies and methods for surgery (e.g., robotic surgery) and, more particularly, to a system and method for releasably securing or attaching an assembly (e.g., a surgical or imaging assembly having a receiver member) with respect to a surgical device (e.g., with respect to a grasper member of a surgery system).
2. Background Art
Minimally invasive surgical systems or the like are known. Minimally invasive surgery typically presents some advantages compared to traditional and/or open surgery procedures (e.g., reduced scarring and/or recovery time, decreased injury/pain to the patient, decreased hospitalization time, etc.). Minimally invasive surgery is generally known under various names (e.g, endoscopy, laparoscopy, arthroscopy, etc.), with the names typically being specific to the anatomical area of the surgery. For example, laparoscopic surgery, which is one type of minimally invasive surgery, is a more recent surgical technique where operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions (e.g., about 1.0 cm) as compared to larger incisions typically required in traditional surgical procedures.
In general, telesurgery systems allow a surgeon to operate on a patient from a remote location. Telesurgery is a general term for surgical systems (e.g., robotic surgical systems) where the surgeon uses some form of servo-mechanism to manipulate the surgical instruments movements rather than directly holding and moving some of the tools. Robotic surgical systems such as minimally invasive robotic surgical systems or the like are generally known. Telesurgery systems have been utilized for both open and endoscopic procedures.
During a minimally invasive surgical procedure (robotic or manual), tubes or the like (e.g., cannulas or trocars or other tool guides) may be inserted through the same or different incisions so that assemblies, devices, probes and/or surgical instruments/tools may be introduced to the desired surgical site. In general, many different surgical procedures can then be performed without requiring a large and/or open cavity incision as typically required by traditional surgical procedures. The laparoscopic surgical instruments generally are similar to those used in conventional (open) surgery, except that the working end of each tool is separated from its handle by an approximately 12-inch long extension tube. The surgeon (and/or robotic system) typically passes instruments through a cannula or the like and manipulates them inside the abdomen by sliding them in and out through the cannula, rotating them in the cannula, levering or pivoting the instruments in the abdominal wall and actuating end effectors on the distal end of the instruments.
In general, imaging devices or the like (e.g., ultrasound probes/transducers and/or assemblies, endoscopes, cameras, etc.) and other surgical instruments/assemblies (e.g., clamp members/instruments, grasper members/instruments, blades, needles, scissors, holder members/instruments, staplers, etc.) for use with minimally invasive surgical systems (e.g., robotic or manual) are known. For example, imaging devices such as ultrasound assemblies and/or probes or the like that are introduced to the desired surgical site provide images of the site to the surgeon. As noted, minimally invasive tools or devices are typically configured and dimensioned to be inserted through a cannula or trocar or other tool guide located in a minimally invasive incision of the patient in order to extend the surgical tools or devices to the surgical site. Exemplary minimally invasive robotic surgical systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,797,900; 5,876,325; 6,371,952 and 7,107,090; and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2007/0021738; 2008/0064921; 2009/0088773; 2009/0192519; 2009/0245600; 2009/0248041 and 2009/0326318; the foregoing being incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
In general and as disclosed in the above listed references, robotic surgical systems typically include user-operable master input devices (e.g., joysticks, gloves, trigger-guns, hand-operated controllers, etc.) that allow a user to manipulate them to have a processor then cause their respectively associated slave arms or the like manipulate their respectively coupled and/or held surgical instruments and/or devices. In short, a surgeon typically performs a minimally invasive surgical procedure with a robotic system by manipulating the master input devices to control (via a processor) the robotic slave arms, which have tools, instruments, probes, etc. attached thereto. Robotic surgical systems typically also include a master display or display screen.
Current practice provides that surgeons or technicians are frequently confronted with the need to move, position, re-position, align and/or adjust various assemblies/devices/tools or the like (e.g., surgical assemblies, imaging assemblies, ultrasound probes/transducers, endoscopes, blades, etc.) during surgery (robotic or manual surgery) under difficult conditions (e.g., in confined/tight spaces, in conjunction with robotic surgical systems, etc.). Such movements/procedures can be very difficult and/or time consuming, especially when the surgical and/or imaging assemblies or the like are associated with and/or utilized along with minimally invasive surgical systems (e.g., minimally invasive robotic surgical systems).
With the foregoing in mind, those skilled in the art will understand that a need exists to provide a patient/user with an assembly for use in a surgical procedure that is capable of releasably securing or attaching to a user-operable surgical device (e.g., a user-operable surgical device associated with a minimally invasive surgery system, such as a robotic surgery system). Thus, despite efforts to date, a need remains for improved and efficient systems/methods for releasably securing or attaching an assembly for use in a surgical procedure (e.g., an imaging assembly having a receiver member) with respect to a surgical device (e.g., with respect to and for use with a grasper member of a robotic surgery system).
These and other challenges and opportunities for improvement are addressed and/or overcome by the systems, assemblies and methods of the present disclosure.